2012

2009

Aims and scope

Biotechnology for Biofuels is an open access peer-reviewed journal featuring high-quality studies describing technological and operational advances in the production of biofuels, chemicals and other bioproducts. The journal emphasizes understanding and advancing the application of biotechnology and synergistic operations to improve plants and biological conversion systems for the biological production of these products from biomass, intermediates derived from biomass, or CO2, as well as upstream or downstream operations that are integral to biological conversion of biomass.

Featured article

The use of bio-based diesel produced from straw, by oleaginous yeasts, removes organic carbon from the soil, having a potentially negative climate impact, however, this is mitigated by the positive advantage of using straw derived biodiesel versus fossil fuels, reducing the global warming potential by 33-80%.

Jean Marie Francois received his PhD in Agronomy and Biological Chemistry from The Catholic University of Louvain La Neuve in 1988. After several post-doctoral periods in USA (North Carolina State University), France (Université de Bordeaux II et CNRS Gif sur Yvette), Brazil (University Sao Paulo) and University Louvain La Neuve, he became full professor at the Institute National des Sciences Appliquées, Federal University of Toulouse in 1993 and reached the exceptional class in 2009. Since then, he created and still manages two research groups (about 25 persons including two associate professors, four senior researchers, 10 technical engineers, four PhD students and five Post-docs) dealing with Integrated Physiology and Functional genomics of microbial systems (PHYGE team; http://www.lisbp.fr/en/research/physiology-and-functional-genomics-of-eukaryotes--ead5.html) at the Laboratory of Engineering of Biological Systems and Biological Process, CNRS 5504 & INRA 792.

Dr Himmel has 30 years of progressive experience in conducting, supervising, and planning research in protein biochemistry, recombinant technology, enzyme engineering, new microorganism discovery, and the physicochemistry of macromolecules. He has also supervised research that targets the application of site-directed-mutagenesis and rational protein design to the stabilization and improvement of important industrial enzymes, especially glycosyl hydrolases.

Professor Mohnen received her B.A. in biology from Lawrence University (Wisconsin) and her MS in botany and PhD in plant biology from the University of Illinois. Her PhD research was conducted at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel, Switzerland. She held postdoctoral research associate positions at the USDA's Richard Russell Research Center and at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC) in Athens, GA where she won an NIH National Research Service Award for her postdoctoral research. She was appointed to the CCRC faculty in September 1990 and is currently Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and also adjunct faculty member in the Department of Plant Biology and member of the Plant Center at UGA.

Professor Wyman has devoted most of his career to leading advancement of technologies for biological conversion of cellulosic biomass to ethanol and other products. Dr Wyman is currently Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and Ford Motor Company Chair in Environmental Engineering at the University of California in Riverside with research focused on pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and dehydration of cellulosic biomass to produce reactive intermediates for conversion into fuels and chemicals.